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by Christian WilliamsOn days like this I'm reminded Zion is among the most beautiful places on earth. There is a special place in my heart for red and white cliffs with a partially cloudy blue sky. I love the curved lines in the rock, layer upon layer, crisscrossing in different directions marking some change in geology thousands of years ago.

by Christian WilliamsConceptually, I divide Zion into 4-5 main parts. Parunaweap Canyon; which is off limits to most visitors (special permit), East Zion, Main Canyon, Kolob, and the North Creek/Coalpits Wash area. I spent most of my time in East Zion, because it's very rugged with few hikers or tourists due to the lack of publicized trails. With Highway 9 running right through the middle of East Zion it's also very easy to be completely away from civilization, even though the car is only a short walk away.

by Christian WilliamsAs I hiked along the river in a secluded canyon, I enjoyed the complete solitude that can be found in remote areas of Zion. There were no people, and no sound I could hear except the rushing water that surrounded me.

by Karen WilliamsAs the sun was setting, I decided to go walk near the river, hoping to take some interesting photographs with the reflections on the water. However, as I walked toward the river, I found this small patch of flowers. Their scent was surprisingly strong and sweet. I was surprised. I had not seen these before in Zion, and spent the next hour taking pictures of them.

It wasn't until later that I came across an entire field of Fragrant Sand Verbena in Zion's backcountry. Then I realized Sand Verbena is commonly facing up. It is only in the evening, as the light from the sun is fading, that the flowers turn over like shown in this photograph.

An interesting note on this photograph. After setting up the tripod and exploring the best angles, I took several photos of the flowers with the surrounding background visible. The sudden thought occured to me that I'd like to isolate the flowers, with nothing else visible, so I took off my jacket and placed it in the background to block out all the ambient light. The resulting photograph ended up being one of my favorites.

by Karen WilliamsI love lizards, and cannot resist any opportunity I get to photograph them up close. This little guy was obviously not in the mood to run around. He just lay on his log and watched me walk around him taking pictures. I think he looks a little tired out, or maybe annoyed, but Chris says he thinks it looks like a pouty glamour shot. I don't know how much emotion lizards really put into their photo shoots, but I enjoyed taking pictures anyway.

I have been informed by my uncle that this lizard is a sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus). I think I should start consulting him before posting reptile pictures, since he is always sure to know what species I have found!

by Karen Williams
I wish I knew what this flower is called, but I cannot seem to find that information anywhere. I only recall seeing it bloom in the early spring, and the beautiful delicate flowers grow in bunches. The petals are soft and thin, and seem as though the slightest wind would blow them away. I love exploring Zion in the spring, when multitudes of new flowers are blooming. They each seem to have their favorite spots in Zion, so hiking in a new area means discovering new plantlife. When I stumbled across this patch of flowers, I stayed and took a variety of pictures, trying to capture their soft, delicate beauty in the early hours of the day.

by Karen WilliamsThere is usually a dry wash that meanders through East Zion, but this year, that dry wash was almost always a river. With the large amounts of snow and rainfall in 2004-2005, this usually dry desert became an oasis alive with the sound of flowing water.

by Karen WilliamsOn this beautiful spring afternoon I hiked along the popular East Rim Trail. I was struck by just how many hikers had gone before me, as can be seen by all the footprints along the sandy trail. Despite the appearance of popularity, however, I met no one on the trail. Instead I was able to enjoy a solitary afternoon in this beautiful area of Zion National Park. I spent a lot more time enjoying the hike than taking pictures, but this particular photo showcases some of the rugged beauty found on the East Rim Trail.

by Karen WilliamsWhile out hiking I found some last remnants of snow. It hasn't snowed for awhile, but in some of the shady canyons, small icy areas still remain. These little flowers have pushed through the ice to bloom as a reminder that spring has come, even as the last reminders of winter melt away.

by Karen Williams
Life in the desert is plentyful, but often on a smaller scale and found in the places you least expect. The scale of this tiny flower can be seen by grains of sand within the spiny flower buds.

by Christian Williams
One of the beautiful things about Zion is the incredible amount of depth in every scene. Layer upon layer of bright red sandstone and white slick rock stretching as far as the eye can see. The rock formation in the forground of this photo reminds me of the many layers, each one adding to the next and contributing to the beauty of Zion National Park.

by Christian Williams
Indian Paint brush is one of the most beautiful desert flowers in Zion National Park. These bright red, eye catching bushes are impossible to miss when they are in full bloom. This day, I hiked up the side of this rock wall, and into the canyons beyond.

by Christian Williams
I love the contrast of light and dark that sunrise brings to Zion. As the sun rises in the east, shadows appear to stretch out across the backsides of all the rocky peaks and from the canyons below.

by Christian Williams
I hiked out of the shadows below and looked back toward the east across Zion. This great towering wall of sheer rock, reaching straight up toward the sky left an impression on me of how small we are and how large Zion is.

by Karen WilliamsAt first glance, I thought this Moth, positioned perfectly in the sunlight against the shadows was posing as a Monarch Butterfly. But on closer inspection, it's antenae were not like those on a typical moth. After a bit of research, but no answer, I decided I was happy with the ambiguity. It looks like a Butterfly, similar to a Monarch Butterfly, but since it's not, I'll assume it's a Moth.

by Karen WilliamsI just love the sly grin on every lizard's face as he stares at you, wondering if he should stay perfectly still or run for his life.

by Christian WilliamsThis small cove is sandstone bowl in East Zion which transforms into a waterfall everytime it rains. As I walked around inside the bowl, I was immediately drawn to the hourglass lines of stone and light.

by Karen Williams
Kolob is a part of Zion National Park, and we felt it was a bit neglected from our project, being almost a 2 hour drive from our house. This day we drove out to admire the sweeping landscape of Kolob. The Kolob mountains on the left, tower above the La Verkin Creek Trail down below. The valley floor continues to grow deeper and deeper as the Virgin River, unseen in the distance, carves it's way through Zion National park.

by Christian Williams
I'd been to this section of the canyon before, but tonight I was walking around with a spot light making long exposures on rocks or fallen trees while I briefly shined the stop light on the scene to brighten the image.

This was a day I was more interested in hiking than photography. I took this picture after hiking up a side canyon from East Zion. I hiked this same canyon the previous day, and turned back after I realized the canyon wouldn't end any time soon. On this day, I returned and hiked all the way to the top, and had to climb hand over hand up loose, dislodged slate rock. This photo looks back towards the road, which is at the bottom of the canyon and out of sight.

by Christian Williams
Once I made it to the top, I realized I was on Deer Trap Mountain, which is a large plateau linking East Zion to the Main Canyon. I walked across the top, which was still covered in snow in most places. Here you can see what remains from the Park Service-induced controlled burn, forest fire which took place on the first day we started our 365 Days in Zion project.

by Christian Williams
Highway 9, which stretches across East Zion is one of my favorite roads in the world. It's beautiful to drive across, but even more fun to stop at even bend in the road, and hike up the side canyon. During the course of this year we hiked up ever side canyon off of Hwy 9. Sometimes the canyon would end within a few hundred yards, but often it would stretch on for a couple miles or more.

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365 IN ZION

365 Days in Zion is a photo experience by Karen and Christian Williams. Together, we spent an entire year in Zion National Park amidst snow, rain, flash floods, brush fires, and the beautiful sunny blue skies that typify Southern Utah in the United States of America.